Tips for a healthy monsoon

You may be an ardent fan of the overcast skies or you may hate them with a vengeance. But it matters little what you think especially when this damp weather compels you to wolf down whatever spicy, piquant or crunchy munch you can lay your hands on... think crisp pakodas, or street food like gol gappas, sev puri and alu kablis!

However, monsoon is a season when you ought to be doubly careful of what you would want to eat. If you aren’t, it’s just a matter of piling on the pounds without even wanting to. Or you may find yourself at the receiving end of a number of water-borne diseases. Think diarrhea, dysentery, malaria, intestinal helmencis like hookworm and ascarasis, cough and fever. Pathetic thought, no?

Dr Anu Jhunjhunwala, consultant nutritionist, says, “The monsoon does lead to festering of bacteria that may spoil what you eat or play havoc with the digestive system. You can help yours with these tips”:

Ensure hygiene in whatever you are consuming: Buy vegetables and food products which look fresh, green or clean. Inspect thoroughly for insects and rotten insides. If you do crave junk food or chatpata snacks, a good idea is to make them at home (who wants to go out in the slush anyway?) with fresh ingredients and cook them lightly, so as to make them less heavy. Learn recipes where you can substitute high calorie snacks for lower ones without compromising on flavours. Have murmura instead of sev, for instance.

Up your intake of immunity boosting foods: Foods that can help you build your immunity include garlic, green tea, bell peppers, broccoli, carrots, mushrooms and barley. Include ingredients that have high anti-oxidants. Mushrooms and barley contain beta glucans that have anti-microbial features that are especially beneficial to fight monsoon based diseases.

Foods to avoid: Reduce consumption of leafy vegetables like spinach during the monsoon. There are too many rules you will have to follow about cleansing and storing them. Similarly, foods that can get spoilt fast such as some fruits, milk and milk products would also fall under that category. This is not to say you can't have them, just that you will have to be very careful about when they were bought, how they were stored and cooked and where you are eating them! Strong smelling or extra sweet fruits such as mangoes, jamun, jackfruit that attract flies is best avoided when the rains start because an overdose may give you boils, apart from inducing a bad stomach.

Storing vegetables and food products properly: If you have been lazy about it, do it now: clean your refrigerator thoroughly every few days during monsoons. There is no need to wash vegetables thoroughly before storing them in the fridge. The moisture will attract pathogenic fungus, otherwise which will spread to the more innocuous food items as well. Pat dry and store separate food items in different containers. Use them fast and wash thoroughly before using for cooking.